Memorial Day Weekend SurpriseWhat started as a plan for Poverty Pete (Big Steve) to escape Nashville for a weekend of relaxing here at the rural ‘orchard’ changed character several times during the long Holiday weekend. I will attempt to make long stories shorter to conserve space, but I must admit this one is a “New Classic” for me. We had planned to have PP arrive Friday afternoon, do a little beverage shopping, then grill-out Friday night and Smoke a Pork Butt for Saturday dinner. Well, it got a little more complicated as time progressed. PP did arrive about noon Friday and we headed for Louisville to the Liquor Barn to purchase some draft Beer from their ‘Growler Taps’. In the past the price on the ‘you tap it’ draft gallons has been very reasonable ( A gallon of Arrogant Bastard Ale being about $14 dollars). Well the store caught onto this ‘bargain rate’ and upped it considerably! We found that a 3-liter draft of the same was now $40...way out of out beer swilling price range! So we bought a couple of cases of Amber Boch, some Shiners and some other ‘exotics’ that PP likes, as well as some wine and vodka for use at other meals, then headed for home.

We had just finished off-loading this cargo onto the kitchen counter and table and sat down with a cold one (or two) for a bit of a break before getting dinner going when the action got really moving. Steve heard a knock at my back door and responded to find my 18 year-old neighbor girl crying and her face rather showing the results of a fight she had with her Mom. She was a real mess, but luckily the damage, while very ugly-looking, was rather minor. We brought her into the house and helped her clean herself up and stop the bleeding, while I called 911 and got the Police and EMT’s rolling. One cop and 5 EMT’s responded with an ambulance and rescue wagon. The EMT’s arrived first and blocked the road for several minutes waiting for the cop to arrive and secure the area! He did that and they all came marching in with the emergency kits and clipboards everywhere. There we were…The Kid all bloody and crying, and PP and I with empty beer bottles in our hands and alcohol visible on every flat surface in the kitchen! It looked like the stereotypical scene in the COPS TV show…The EMT had to sit his DeFib unit on a case of beer on the table to get to it (un-needed). Well, to make a long story shorter…after everyone had interviewed everyone else, and photos were taken, it finally became clear that the scene of the crime had been next door at the neighbors house, not in our kitchen, so they all loaded up (no pun intended) and went over there to interview the Mom etc etc. Steve and I sat down and had another beer, and welcomed Janet home with stories of what had happened. Actually she walked in in the middle of it and thought it was some kind of a joke at first. As things calmed down, we decided to do a quickie dinner rather than wait for the grill fire to get going…So we pan-seared the two Racks of Lamb while the Red Potatoes were oven-roasting, then stuck them into the hot oven with the Potatoes to finish their roasting. While that was going on we used the rest of the bacon-drippings to Pan-Fry one of the 2 lb Porterhouses we keep around. When it was a perfect Medium Rare we set it aside to rest while we pulled out the Lamb and Potatoes. All were just right! We divided up the Steak on one plate, and double-cut the Ribs on another. With the Crispy-edged potatoes and a lot of melted butter we shared a great meal that really only took 30 minutes to prepare (other than the potatoes). Still shook-up from the ‘action’, we took no photos of all this fun (sorry). We did have three good sized portions of the steak and eight of the double-rib pieces of Lamb between the three of us! So no one left the table hungry. Saturday- PP and I got the smoker going about 8 AM and loaded it up about 9 AM. We had a Seventeen pound Pork Butt that had been cut into a large and small half for us. One half PP marinated using the Vickers Sauce given to us at the Memphis Meeting last winter. On the other he used a dry-rub. Into the Smoker they went and the long day of watching and sitting began. It was looking pretty good when the surprise visitors started arriving!!

A nice Smoke Ring tells us it is ready !!

During the afternoon as the Pork slowly cooked Janet was very busy in the kitchen prepping the Potato Salad and the Beans and Slaw and bunch of other stuff that I really wasn’t aware of. PP was scooting around checking this and that and ‘getting another beer’ (a habit of his I am real used too). Suddenly appearing on my front Porch is ‘Little Steve’ "TTM" ! Surprise! I thought he must be passing thru with his friend Dave and stopping to say ‘HI’! However, he started telling me how he had something in the car for me and would return shortly…Then up comes BUSHIE ! Now we have PP, TTM and Bushie opening beers and talking about all the nonsense we usually get into…I still didn’t get a grip on what was happening! Bushie takes some photos to add!

Then up comes BuffetBuster and his girl-friend and her daughter ! Well by then it was a real “Get-Together” and we settled into a long afternoon and evening of good-times with Pork BBQ and fellowship capped by watching the Pittsburg Hockey Team win a game in the playoffs. Here is BB and Mariton and her daughter helping (?) Jan in the Kitchen!

The Dog's Got to have the Blade Bones from the Pork. That made them happy too!McDuff in Blue and Demi in Red !!

While all this was going on, TTM was perfecting his bird photography from my living room window. Here are two of the results of his efforts!

What a surprise meeting! I have always been in the ‘organizing’ end of these events and honestly had never been the receiver of a surprise party in my life! That made this one really special. Janet and PP worked for weeks to get it organized and I am very grateful for having the chance to see my friends again!

SUNDAY- We decided to meet at LYNN’s PARADISE CAFÉ in Louisville for Breakfast, and plan the Sunday activities from there. Here are a couple of ‘Lynn’s Photos. The folks purchased the ‘Mayors Crown’ in the gift shop and have challenged me to wear it at the Official Gatherings in the future!!

Here we pose with one of the outdoor signs-

Then the usual "Let's photgraph our food" from Cliff, while the rest of us dive in !!

The Servers watch us with our food with "interest" !!

Here is an order of Bourbon-sauced French Toast we shared !

From Lynn’s We split up, with PP, Janet and I heading for home after dropping Bushie off at the Airport for his return to Texas.

BB and TTM and the girls went to the Derby Museum at Churchill Downs, then got some Ice Cream at Graters before meeting us at the Patton Museum in Fort Knox. Here is TTM's Strawberry Chip and Black Raspberry Chip Ice Cream . We met at the Patton Museum, a very interesting (and FREE) place to peek into the life of the General and the Armor History of the Army. Here is General Patton welcoming us!

TTM wanted to check out the drivers seat in an Abrams Tank, so here he is in the simulator

There are dozens of tanks on display from all of the wars since the invention of the machine!!

Naturally one of the "Younger Guys" would fail to read the rules and get into some 'issues' with the local law enforcement...but we got him out ok!!After Fort Knox we stopped at Mike Linnings Fish House on the way home thru Louisville.

We over-loaded on fried seafood and then split up for the night. Here are some Onion Rings !!

BB and ‘family' headed out Monday Morning, while TTM came over to share these photos with me, then he and PP headed out and Janet and I put our feet up to recover from a “Very Busy” Holiday at home ! That’s our weekend folks! Thanks to all who made the trip!! I hope Bushie and BB will add their photos and especially their narrative to this report !!!

I really, really, really, wanted to head out to see you this past weekend. PP told me all about it- however flights into Louisville and Pittsburgh were $300 + which prevented me from going anywhere. And driving was out of the question since I have to save all of my vacation days for "the big one" in 2 months

Nice report, Al.....................you have special friends and a most special wife to get this done for you. I am sure that they think it was all worthwhile because now you have to wear that crown everytime you go to a Roadfood event..............oh well, not to worry as it will look great with your Hawaiian shirts!

Add- The Neighbor Kid left with her boy-friend to spend the weekend away from home (and her Mom). We saw her return Monday evening, but haven't heard a word or seen either of them since the big 'blow-up' on Friday. Here's hoping they have solved the issues that caused the whole thing.

TTM- The photos are all yours. I cropped some of them a bit, but thats all! We just uploaded what you took out of your camera.

Al and all who participated, I'm envious!!! My kind of fellowship you enjoyed! I could comment on each photo, however, I'll do only one. Over 40 years ago I piloted one of those impressive tanks as TTM did. Great thrill hauling ass across streams, thru mud and almost anything in front!! Great way to get from point A to point B!!!!

Dean- I emailed you a couple of other photos that TTM took of display ARMOR at the Museum. It is a great place to visit. One no longer has to go thru the main gate and all the security to get to the place...It now has it's own entrance gate from US 31W for direct public access! Anyone visiting the Louisville area should include a stop here for a peek into the life of a Great American Warrior.

Hey Mayor, that no account team you mentioned are my beloved Carolina Hurricanes and we got our butts swept tonight. I sure am glad BB didn't decide to make a little wager on the series or I would be drop shipping BBQ pork and fixings to him I am sure. I grew up a Penguins fans before we got our beloved Canes..... so go Pittsburgh ! ! ! ! !

I am sure it was a great surprise to have so many show up to surprise you... nice pics and report.

Nancy, I think we would all be upset at this character assassination if it wasn't so true!

Lots of great photos here. I haven't touched my pics yet, but hopefully I can add a few before too long. Dennis-What could I have even offered you in a wager that would be as good as Carolina bbq, brunswick stew and hushpuppies?

Oh that looks like so much fun!!! when is the episode of " cops " going to air? I want to check for the accents.. Mr Mayor, I'm thinking that only Roadfood royalty would fail to notice his wife preparing side dishes for 9 when there is only 3 people...kudos to Janet on her stealth prep work!!

I'm so envious of those of you who were present. What a great time y'all obviously had, and I sure wish that I had been part of your little troop. I especially love the "fruits n' vegetables" photo ( there's something very appropriate about this shot, but I'm not quite sure what it is! )

Oh that looks like so much fun!!! when is the episode of " cops " going to air? I want to check for the accents.. Mr Mayor, I'm thinking that only Roadfood royalty would fail to notice his wife preparing side dishes for 9 when there is only 3 people...kudos to Janet on her stealth prep work!!

We all were repeatedly stunned that Al could think that he was making 17 pounds of smoked pork, while Janet was preparing cole slaw, potato salad, fruit salad, etc. for an army...and he thought that it was just going to be the three of them dining together.

I think when we showed up, Al was a little bummed when he considered that all the leftovers he was counting on seemed to be disappearing with each new person that arrived!

I finished the beans last night while editing the report. There is one more serving of the potato salad in tupperware in the refrig. Pork??? It was gone Monday night!

I had three beers left out of the 6 cases and misc large bottles that I saw at one time or another. I do have one Red Rock and one Grey's Ginger Ale and a bunch of Vernors that I had put away and forgot to bring out.

On Friday, I picked up Mariton and Emilou around 4:00PM and a little less than an hour later, we arrived at our first dinner destination, Mehlman's Cafeteria in St. Clairsville, Ohio. I had always thought this place was rather mediocre. But two weeks ago, while driving to Cincy for CajunKing's chili crawl, Mariton and I stopped in just because we knew we could get in and out quickly. Only this time, I was shocked by how good the food was. The food was markedly better than previous visits or my tastes have changed.

Mariton was happy to come back and this was her tray. That would be bbq ribs, corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, gelatin and tuna noodle casserole. Emilou's tray looked similar, since she also got the bbq ribs and tuna noodle casserole, plus mac & cheese, deviled eggs and pasta salad.

Obviously, the big boy's tray was a little more crowded. That is ham loaf, with mac & cheese and mashed potatoes. Sides are pierogies, cole slaw, tapioca, jello, deviled eggs, peanut butter pie and iced tea. On my tray at least, the ham loaf and pie were the standouts and the girls really enjoyed their food, too. I'm not going to place Mehlman's in the same league with the gold standard, Gray Brother's, but this is much better than the typical cafeteria. And despite how crowded this place always is, they get you out of here quickly with the dual line system they have going on.

Our plan was to spend the night on the Kentucky side of Cincy. And we couldn't come to the Cincy area without hooking up with CajunKing or TravelinMan, who had flown in earlier in the day. So after some conversations, we decided to meet at a distinctly non-Roadfood place, Hofbrauhaus in Newport, KY. This is a small chain, with locations in Las Vegas, Newport and Pittsburgh. We were the first to arrive and grabbed a picnic table in the outside area. We had hoped to be able to see the fireworks display at the baseball stadium after the game. Soon after, CajunKing arrived.

Being the polite, thoughtful person I am, I had wanted to wait for TTM to arrive before we ordered food. But everyone else insisted on going ahead and eating, so what could I do?My sausage plate, came with more mashed potatoes and some sauerkraut. Of the three sausages, the one on the left had great flavor and a nice snap when you bit into it. Otherwise, everything else on the plate was ordinary. Slightly better were the sauerkraut balls,but the ones at the Golden Lamb in Lebanon, Ohio are much better. CajunKing shared his pretzels and cheese sauce which were a big hit with the girls.I was just about to call TTM to remind him we were in Newport, KY and not Newport, RI when he arrived with a father and son he had met at the Reds game. Although the father was a little strange and the son didn't say a word, they were very nice and we were glad to meet them. Here is TTM enjoying his beer.The Hofbrauhaus is definitely much more of a hopping bar at night than I had originally thought and the crowd was almost completely in their 20's and early 30's. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have brought Emilou here. As we were walking back through the inside towards the parking lot, the oompah band was so loud, we couldn't hear each other and there were plenty of drunks standing on tables singing. Quite a sight and it looked like fun. But it was late and we had a drive the next morning. We said goodbye to TTM and CK and retired to our hotel in Florence, KY for the night.

Saturday morning, we were happy to relax at the hotel for most of the morning and didn't leave until 10:00AM. Our mission before dropping in at Al's was to stop at the Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen and pick up a couple of pies for the party. There was a bad accident on I-71 which slowed traffic to a crawl and delayed our arrival in Louisville, but we got there just about noon.

Some of you might remember from previous trip reports that this is my favorite dessert place in the whole country. Everything I have ever had here is top notch and the variety available is astonishing! Here is one of the pie cases. Since I was picking up pies, the girls decided to grab some ice cream there. That is Emilou's chocolate chip cookie and her ice cream, along with Mariton's coconut ice cream. For me, it was a piece of the fantastic red velvet cake with cream cheese icing.

Two strange scenes were playing out. This location (Bardstown Road) is right underneath a dance studio. So while we ate, we watched a father/daughter dancing by the dessert cases. This may seem a little strange, but great cake makes me want to get up and dance, too!

And against the window, there were two guys carefully taking photos of their pie. Needless to say, I am usually the only moron doing this in any restaurant. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, I went over and took a pic of their beautiful lemon pie, too. Mariton can only shake her head.....

Nancy- Can you really imagine me watching strangers take pie photos and not get involved? Ain't gonna happen! And I couldn't agree more about cafeteria trays. Don't you think you could learn a lot about a person just by seeing what they put on their cafeteria tray?

As for Georgia cake, I happen to have a photo of it. I bet you didn't see that coming, huh? There are chunks of pineapple in the icing and Mandarin orange in the yellow cake. Just don't ask me what that has to do with Georgia.

When we arrived at Al's a little after 1:00PM, TTM And Bushie had beaten us there, so the surprise was already gone. Still, when I walked around the corner, with a couple of pies in my arms and exclaimed to the group, now relaxing on the patio drinking beer, "Hey, I heard there is a bbq here", Al was clearly caught off guard. At this point, he had to be wondering who else is going to show up, but we were the last ones.

So we sat around talking, while Professor Petegave us a lesson on the proper smoking techniques, all the while getting lots of advice from the peanut gallery! We had a great time catching up and bsing and it was finally time to eat. Here is Al cutting up the wonderful pork. From this angle, you can see part of my crew, hungrily anticipating and she was indeed the first in line! Our hunger got the best of us and we started to get silly. This is TTM, taking a photo of Bushie, while he is taking a photo of me, taking a photo of TTM. Obviously, it was funnier at the time.

The pork was delicious as were all the wonderful sides that Janet made, especially the baked beans and the potato salad.From the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen, I brought a Banana Cream and a Chocolate Chess Pie. I found the Chocolate Chess a little too rich for my taste, but the Banana Cream was fantastic! Here is a small slice of each.TTM and I were hoping to find a place to watch the Penguin-Hurricane playoff hockey game that night and Al and Janet were kind enough to let us watch the game at their place, even though Al said he has never watched an entire hockey game in his life. Here is TTM and Mariton modeling their Penguin jerseys before the game started. After the game, we said our goodbyes and headed for our hotel in Jeffersonville, IN.

A big thanks to Al and Janet for being such a good hosts for the day and putting up with all of us troublemakers. And to Poverty Pete for doing such a great job of organizing the surprise. Well done!It was such a fun day!

What a great trip report!! Brought a huge smile to my face and lots of laughs too. The food looked amazing and I bet the memories created were incredible. Thanks again for sharing all those wonderful food pictures (Yum!!!) and great stories. And who knew that the men were so darn cute!!!

Some more photos from our breakfast together at Lynn's Paradise Cafe.The decor, both inside and out, is truly bizarre and fun. We may have the next Ansel Adams here.How Al can keep such a straight face with this hat on is a mystery!But none of that would matter if the food wasn't so good. Here is Mariton's black raspberry french toast.Emilou's western omelet.My frittata, with cheese grits.Bushie's biscuits & gravy. Look at the size of those chunks of sausage! Not 100% sure, but I think this was Poverty Pete's plate and it was a Kentucky scramble. Please correct me if I am wrong. Al got the same thing and gave me one of his fried green tomatoes and it was excellent!

Hey, I take this "Mayordom" stuff seriously, BB. The mantle of authority that comes with the CROWN weighs heavily on my shoulders (Actually, Everything weighs heavily on me !!!)

Yeah those Fried Green Tomatoes were pretty good. I got the same plate as PP. It was very good, but $14.00 is a bit above my usual Breakfast Budget ! AND we couldn't get a Bloody Mary with it, until after 1 PM !! Blue laws still in effect in Kentucky!

Some more photos from the rest of our day on Saturday.....The Kentucky Derby Musuem at Churchill Downs was a terrific museum. We spent about an hour and half here and easily could have kept looking around another two hours. Here is Emilou on one of the simulatorsIn the center ring, they had banners of all the triple crown winners.Of these two horses at the starting gate, which would you bet on and which one is ready for the glue factory?This was the first time for both Emilou and TTM at Graeter's, which is one of my favorite ice cream shops. Here Mariton enjoys her smoothie, while Emilou eats a cone with the black raspberry chip, which is their signature flavor. A close up of two scoops of BRC.Some of you may remember a photo I took of my cousin Mark in the arms of the U of Louisville Cardinal mascot statue near the student union. This time, we took the same photo but with Emilou.Something tells me those bird arms wouldn't hold me.We really enjoyed the General Patton Museum at Fort Knox, especially seeing all the huge tanks. Unfortunately, my camera battery had died at this point and I was too lazy to walk to the car to get my spare. So no pics.At Mike Linning's, there is lots of room to eat outside.There was even a large tent across the street with some kind of music fest going on.But because it was so humid on this day, we decided to dine indoors. The food.....Janet's catfish.Al's seafood combination platter, which had just about anything you could think of on it.My fried shrimp plate.Good, but the shrimp should have been warmer. And the iced tea here is really refreshing.We said our goodbyes at Al and Janet and retreated to our hotel, where I took a nice long nap. Later that night, TTM met my party at Mark's Feed Store for a late night meal. The reason for this stop was to try that Kentucky only dish, burgoo.Plenty of meat in here, which was beef, chicken and pork. No mutton, which was mildly disappointing. The rest of the food was adequate. We ended up being the last ones in the restaurant.On Monday morning, we left our hotel around 9:00AM and met my friend Bill and his wife Connie at the Original Pancake House in West Chester, Ohio. Other than the overly done bacon, the meal was up to OPH's usual high standards. From there, it was straight home to Pittsburgh.

Wow! Those pictures are GORGEOUS!! Do you know that sometimes on our Sunday dates, Brian and I just sit in front of this screen for the longest period of time, looking at these Get-Togethers and Trip Reports, staring at food pictures, marvelling? I wish I had been with you guys, but...I wasn't invited.

Hey, I've never seen gelatin that looked exactly like the one on I believe it was Mariton's tray. It looks different, like it's mixed with something, but not fruit.

Anyway, everybody looks great and I had a wonderful time reading through this. None of the "old-timers" (senior posters? That sound better?) seem to change at all through the years.

That's so cool that you know people from around my little 'ole town!!! If you should happen to be going to the graduation on Friday let me know. Would love to meet you (and your better half if she comes as well). Just let me know!!!